Sonic the Hedgehog
The Fine Line between Imagination and Reality
Chapter Two – "Nightmares Revisited"
"Nothing… that's the only word that can explain this," Sonic said with a saddened voice. His eyes looked around, trying to find at least one glimpse of hope. He found none. All that was there was black… never-ending black. Tired, he sat down on what was nothing. He did not know where he was. There had never been such a horrible place as this one. He deeply sighed and clasped his hands over his face. Burning tears began to run down his cheeks. He felt lost and hopeless…
"Do not cry young hedgehog," said a voice from behind him. He turned his head slowly to see the figure of a cloaked man. The man was tall and slim. His cloak, battered and ripped, but hid all signs of skin or face.
"W-who are you…?" he trembled as he spoke.
"I am what you may call, a 'Nightmare'," he said while gesturing a shrug.
"W-where am I?"
"You are in a dream," he spread his arms out wide, as to pronounce it greatly.
Sonic looked at the ground, thinking about what he had just told him. "I-if this is a dream… t-then none of this is real. I'll just wake up and nothing would have happened," he said, feeling much better about his current position.
A long and decaying finger slid from the cloak's sleeve. His finger wagged back and forth as he said, "There, you are wrong."
Furious at what he said, Sonic stood up, fists clenched. "What the hell are you talking about!" he yelled. A dark aura slowly formed around his body, turning his skin to a darker blue.
The figure laughed, "No, no, no. You know quite well that you are incapable of controlling that part of your heart." Sonic knew he was right. He relaxed his muscles, attempting to calm down. The aura receded, turning his skin its original color. "I will explain it for you, then. When you dream, your mind enters another realm, the 'Realm of Dreams'. Your imagination works as a key for this gate. Now, the dreams you have are real… it only affects you mentally. Now, 'Nightmares' are another division of this realm that people sometimes wander into, by accident. The attacks inflicted upon you from a nightmare are only strong enough to wake you up and to frighten."
"So, they're still harmless?" he asked.
The hooded man raised his decrepit finger upwards, "No longer is that true," he said with a light laugh. Sonic recoiled at this information. "It would seem that we needed a 'gate', similar to the one you use to reach us here, for us to reach your world." Sonic's eyes widened. "I suppose you might have figured it out by now," he placed his boney finger on Sonic's forehead, "you are the 'Gate to Reality', Sonic the Hedgehog!" He shoved his finger straight into the base of Sonic's skull. Sonic screamed in pain, his pupils growing smaller.
A blade was placed gently to his throat. From behind him was a mangled and sutured up teddy-bear. It had only one large, glowing eye and a wide, demented smile on its face. He placed another blade next to one he already had set up. Sonic looked at what held the blades. They were the bear's fingers. The blades, crudely attached to its arms.
It whispered slowly into his ear, "Why, hello, Sonic. My name's Uuo. I hope we can 'play' in reality soon!" Uuo quickly pulled his arm back, blood rushing from the sits on Sonic's neck. His vision blurred, until all he saw was darkness… again.
chapter end